Cirque Eloize’s Saloon is Sept. 30. (VDPAC image)

Cirque Eloize’s Saloon is Sept. 30. (VDPAC image)

Vernon Performing Arts Centre celebrates 17th birthday with Saloon

Cirque Eloize's Saloon is Sept. 30

The Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre Society presents Cirque Eloize’s Saloon presented by Desjardins on Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. at the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre as part of the SPOTLIGHT Special Presentation Series.

This performance is the also the Centre’s 17th Birthday Bash, and all are welcome for an evening of celebration.

Swing open the Saloon doors and rustle up some fun for the entire family with this musical and acrobatic adventure. Inspired by the rich legacy of the Wild West, Saloon transports audiences to a dusty gathering place. The stage fizzes and thrums with infectious energy and phenomenal physical feats as 11 top-level cast members perform for a music-packed theatrical thrill-ride. Prepare to be blown away by a chase worthy of the greatest Westerns.

“The Saloon is a wonderful playground for work of artistic exploration. It’s also a place of opportunity, one that made us want to try something different,” says Jeannot Painchaud, president and artistic director of Cirque Éloize and creative director of Saloon. “It has the physical energy of acrobatics combined with the poetry of the theatrical approach, punctuated with humour and accompanied by amazing live music. Saloon is bright, funny and musical.”

This creation also marks the first collaboration between Cirque Éloize and the show’s musical director, celebrated Canadian composer Eloi Painchaud (Louis Cyr, Laguerre destuques 3D). Staying close to the musical roots of the artistic director and musical director, who happen to be cousins, Saloon mixes country extracts (Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash) with more festive, folk-inspired compositions. There are four musicians and singers onstage, and all the artists sing or play instruments.

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Saloon director Emmanuel Guillaume has put together an acrobatic comedy with 11 top-level, multidisciplinary artists performing with exuberance and humour.

“Saloon is an invitation to the party, a fertile ground for emotions where everything is permitted. It’s also a meeting of different art forms that were already part of the rich heritage of this mythical place back then,” he said.

A driving force in the circus art reinvention movement, Cirque Éloize has been creating award-winning entertainment content for nearly 25 years and ranks among the world’s leading contemporary circuses. Cirque Éloize has taken part in numerous prestigious international festivals and has seduced both New York’s Broadway and London’s West End.

Its productions are crafted for a wide range of audiences and have been embraced by over fifty cultures. In the last 24 years, Cirque Éloize’s eleven shows have proudly boasted more than 4,000 performances in over 500 cities and have been seen by over three million spectators.

Join the Society for pre-show birthday bash celebrations including cake, BX Press cider tastings and much more starting at 6 p.m. in the lobby.

Tickets for Saloon are $45 for adults, $42 for seniors and $40 for students through the TicketSeller, 250-549-7469 or www.ticketseller.ca.


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